A while ago, I took a lot of abuse for criticising Stevenage, as I did for Rotherham and Gillingham.
The issue has always been Evans. His antics do little for a club’s reputation, and his style is something that can be described as anti-football. I’ve seen the same accusation stain Stevenage recently, but after a bruising 2-2 draw at the Lamex this weekend, I’m inclined to think football snobbery is now the issue around Stevenage, rather than the stain of Evans.
I think they do things differently, but so do we. Between the two of us, we’ve upset the elite. We have almost won a title from 17th in the budget table, and we’ve been called everything under the sun, until just after Christmas, when the plaudits have begun rolling in. As yet, they’ve not cascaded into Alex Revell’s inbox, but they should, because with a similar budget, they’re keeping Huddersfield and Luton (to name two) out of the top six.
Yes, this is my analysis of yesterday’s game, and it will focus on Lincoln as well, but as a team being applauded for going up and proving how things can be done, it would be hypocritical to then do anything other than give praise to a side who have found its own blueprint for success.
Their blueprint isn’t exactly the same as ours, but the roots feel similar. They are vertical, as we are, and they have good players in the final third, as we do. Jamie Reid and Dan Kemp both showed really nice touches, and a lot of their play was neat and tidy. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve got those dark arts down to a tee, but if anyone thinks we haven’t, they’re only seeing one side of the coin.
Let’s move on to the game, because while I did my match report, I do like to give a bit of analysis after. The first two minutes were so ugly, just two teams heading it to each other, and when it did get on the floor, they scored. Harvey White whips the ball in, Piergianni wins first contact (there is a shock) and Louis Thompson rifles home. It’s easy to say we need to be on the second ball quicker, and maybe we should, but it’s a routine set piece the likes of which we score every week.
Were Lincoln City going to be out-Lincoln’d?
Honestly, while the game never got going (fewer shots on target for both teams combined than we managed in the second half alone against Northampton), I enjoyed the contest. It wasn’t pretty, we didn’t get going and yet somehow I found it oddly engrossing. That might be the fan banter, them singing Spurs away olé olé, then us singing it back, then them singing Lincoln away olé olé, then us singing we’re off to Tottenham, you’re off to Bromley, it was all very amusing.
Tendayi wasn’t amused, and some sort of incident before our goal saw their supporters give him a load of stick. So, when Ryley Towler’s excellent ball into Hackett was flicked on by Saxon Earley, our captain took his chance. He finished with aplomb, a little like his finish away at Northampton in early 2025, but his celebration was pure housery, as it is called. Finger to the lips, cupping the ears, silencing the crowd. It ensured he got booed throughout, and another hero/villain emerged in a game full of them.
Their second goal came from a well-worked move. We cleared our lines, Matt Phillips and Louis Thompson then worked a moment well for Kemp, and his cross was nodded home by Reid. Tendayi will feel aggrieved he wasn’t able to get a touch, and in truth, it was too easy. If we were in August, and we’d conceded that, a week after the header we conceded against Orient, we might be suggesting we need to defend the box better, but when you’re a point from the Championship, it’s probably best left to one side.
As the first half wore on, again, not a lot happened, and everything happened. Stevenage started doing Stevenage things, the dark arts, and I think we did too. Neil Hair, in my opinion, got a little caught up in the game. Sonny Bradley was booked for catching Charlie Goode as they came out from a corner, and I can’t comment whether it was fair or not. I imagine it was, but then literally two minutes later, one of their lads (could have been White, Pattenden, Earley…) did the exact same thing to Varfolomeev. Oddly, I watched them, rather than the ball, and their player watches Ivan as he runs forward (ball 30 feet away) and just runs directly into him, not even bothered about the play. Result? Free kick, no yellow.
I felt that summed Hair up. He just seemed to lose grip a bit, faced with two sides that clearly understand that side of the game. At the end of the 90, when Rob Street was interviewed, he looked like he had been in a boxing match, and he was on for what, 30 minutes? I’m not saying we’re perfect, but it was clear Hair gave up on some things. Pulling in the area was a joke, from both teams. Hair would stop the play, have a word, and then let it happen. One, in front of the away fans, was hilarious, as he spoke to the players, then as the corner was taken two went down and got up, and he just let it carry on.
By the way, Hair by name and hair by nature, he’s a referee who should be sponsored by Head and Shoulders.
Speaking of haircuts, why do most of the Stevenage players have the same one? Piergianni, Earley, White, Pattenden all merged into one, and I was convinced Lewis Freestone was playing, as he had the same cut last time. Also, what do they feed their players? Saxon Earley, with us, was a decent enough lad, but he didn’t stand out. Now he looks like a bouncer, properly stacked across his shoulders and chest. I imagine their training schedule reads Sunday, day off, Monday, tactics, Tuesday, ripping phone books in half. Fair play to them, they’re physical, and that’s an attribute we have used to get to the top of the table.